Kingdom of Swaziland          

South Africa treats the Friday before Easter and the Monday after Easter as holidays, so the Area Offices were closed.  Many South Africans use this four day weekend as a chance to go see families or to travel to some of the special locations.  We looked at going to Pilanesberg to see some of the "Big 5," but the hotels were filled up and people told us it would be very crowded because it is such a popular destination as it is only two hours away from Johannesburg.

Another missionary couple (the Gattens), shared that they planned on going to Swaziland which is a separate country (Kingdom) within South Africa,  located over next to Mozambique.  Several other couples who had been there encouraged us to go too.  So along with the other two couples in Legal, we decided it would be a good opportunity to explore another country and culture.  Despite it being Easter weekend,  we were able to make reservations at the Mountain Inn in Mbabane.  Unfortunately, Sister Deamer injured her back and they had to cancel out at the last minute but the rest of us carpooled over.

We saw beautiful countryside on the way over.  Lots of open fields with cattle, corn and some sunflowers.  As we got closer the terrain became more hilly and rocky and the trees changed to pine trees.  We found it interesting going thru passport control to leave South Africa and then thru passport control to enter Swaziland.  Our first stop was the glass factory and where we had lunch and visited the various shops.  Unfortunately, we did not get to see them blowing glass because Swazland also celebrates the Easter holidays and the glass blowers had the day off.  We arrived at our Mountain Inn hotel in Mbabane (pronounced Ba Bonnay) and we had a beautiful view looking out over the Ezulwini Valley.

We went out to dinner that night at the Ramblas Restaurant.  The Gattens were following us but got lost and went back to the hotel and ate at the Friar Tuck restaurant.  When we came out after dinner there was such a dense fog we had to put our flashers on, go 2-3 kph, roll our windows down and look for a curb to follow.  It was quite scary, but we eventually made our way back to the hotel (after a few u-turns on some dirt roads.)

The next day we visited the Swazi cultural center, the candle factory, a wildlife preserve (after taking a wrong turn and ending up at the gates to the Royal Residence where the guards gently straightened us out.)  At the cultural village we got an in depth tour of their traditional villages, (only 5% of the population still live in them) and we saw some dancers including some traditional medicine men.  On Sunday we attended the local Mbabane Branch.  We were trying to find a Chinese restaurant for lunch and Br. Henderson (from the US Embassy) said we would likely get ill there and recommended we go to another place.  We took his advise and had the most relaxing lunch any of us have ever had in our lives.  It was beautiful and the food was great!

On Monday after our breakfast (it is included with your room).  We headed home, but we stopped at the glass factory for the Gattens and Winns to pick up their 5# loaves of bread filled with lots of seeds.  We were all interviewed on Swaziland TV at the border crossing.  We got stopped at several police checkpoints along the highway, but had no problems.  We stopped at a little Africans store called Mr. Froggie and had hamburgers for lunch.

Corn fields

Fields of cattle

The area got hillier and the trees changed to pines.

In this one town, the stop signs were 8' and 16' high.  We wondered if the top one is for giraffes or low helicopters.

The Glass factory with lots of peacocks.

The mountain Inn looking out over the pool and the Ezulwini valley.

The view of the valley from our room.

The back of the hotel at night on the path up from our room.

A little friend that greeted us on our arrival at the Swazi Cultural Village. (Vervet Monkey)

The houses all made from reeds.  When it is cold they are warmer inside and when it is hot, they are cooler inside.

Our tour guide.  He is 34 and  still saving enough for the 13 cows so he can marry.

They cook inside the houses and  the smoke stays up at the top and filters out but the rain does not come in.

We learned about execution rock where people who committed witchcraft were blindfolded and sent to their maker.

Some of  the male dancers.

One of the female dancers.

A short walk to the falls.

We saw these ladies as we were trying to find our way to the animal preserve and too the wrong turn to the Royal Residence. Different religious groups wear different colored robes.  The Baptists have their color, the Methodists, have their colors, and the Presbyterian have theirs.  But the most colorful of all are this group which is the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church of Zion Illinois.

Some Red Hartebeests resting in the field.

Our first warthog in the wild.

One of the famous termite mounds.  They are like concrete.

A Springbok by a Rondevel at the campgrounds.

A wildebeest

Some Zebras near the road in the game preserve.

Frequently when going down a road you have to Yield to the "Other Traffic".

The women carry incredible loads on their heads, usually without any hands.  Here she is carrying about 6 gallons of water back to her house.

The chapel in Mbabane, Swaziland.

The Summerfield Resort and Botanical Gardens a beautiful oasis in Swaziland.

The running water was so soothing.

The grounds were lush and tropical and  the people super friendly.

Sister Gatten with her 5# loaf of very dense bread filled with seeds.  ( I don't know if I would buy my bread at a glass factory.)

The little produce stands at the Swaziland border crossing.  We got some great grapefruit.

Some of the young women singing.

A traditional medicine man dancing.

Some of the tribal medicine men from over near Lesotho there for training.

National Zoological Gardens     

To celebrate Human Rights Day a group of us took the Gautrain ("How train") to Pretoria to visit the National Zoological Gardens.  We saw not only African animals but several other exotic ones.

The very clean and modern Gautrain.

The first area we came to, made you think you were in Florida!

One of the elephants enjoying his meal of twigs.

It is amazing how much they eat in a day!

This young giraffe was busy eating from a tree.  They are one of my favorites.

Here is a warthog taking a little rest after a hard day.

One of the most unusual but beautiful animals.

And here is Mr. Okapi.  He looks like  part giraffe, part zebra and part something else.

Here are two different kinds of lions. The white ones are so unusual but morecommon here.

Another very unusual animal.

Here he is just enjoying the tall grass.

A short clip of a rare black rhino.

Lesedi Village - Cultural Center     

We went with a group of senior missionaries on a Saturday morning to visit the Lesedi Cultural Village to learn more about the five major tribes that make up most of South Africa.  There we learned about the Nbede, the Xhosa, the Zulu, the Besoto, and the Pedi tribes.  The Center is about 50 minutes out of Johannesburg and is popular with many tourists wanting to learn more about the cultures here in South Africa.  Located there are small villages representing the five different tribes.  As you walk to the various locations you learn about their culture, history and traditions.  

At the Nbede village we learned that only the men were allowed around the council fires because that is where they would discuss major issues and any plans for war.   If the women were there, then they would tell everyone and there would be no element of surprise when they went to battle.  I also learned to eat toasted caterpillars there.  Not particularly my favorite snack item!

We learned that the Zulu used to use long spears but once they threw them, they had nothing left to fight with so they would flee.  Shaka Zulu made them all switch to short spears so they had to engage the enemy at close range and as a result they became a very feared group.  They used to keep their cattle in a krall (corral) in the center of the village because the cattle were very valuable and they wanted to protect them.  The Besoto on the other hand, put their krall and cattle outside of the village walls so that if the Zulu attacked they would steal the cows and leave without killing all of them to get the cows.

The Pedi (pronounced "Pee dee") were once attacked by the British.  The British put all the Scotsman on the front lines in their kilts.  When their chief saw them coming in the distance and he said do not hurt the beautiful women in the front, wait and kill all of the ugly men behind them.  They did not believe in fighting women, and they realized too late that the Scots were not women. They then wore the red plaid kilts after that to remind them of what they considered British trickery.

After we visited the five villages we watched some of their traditional dances.

Deamers, Whytes, Scotts, Johnsons, Blakes, and Broadbents at Lesedi.

Elder Deamer learning to be a Zulu Warrior

Elder Broadbent, Sister Broadbent  & Elder Whyte with a mother and daughter who work at Lesedi Village.

Our Zulu tour guide.

One of the villages showing the thatched huts.

At the Besoto Village, notice the outdoor cooking area.  It has four cooking areas so you could choose whichever side was sheltered from the wind.  The Besoto live in the more mountainous area. They wear pointed hats and usually a blanket over their shoulders.

The Young Single Adults   

In the Kagiso (pronounced "Ka heso") 2nd Ward we were asked by the Bishop to work with the Young Single Adults (YSA)(ages 18-30).  They are such an amazing group.  Most of them live on one meal a day, either lunch or dinner.  Their families have very little money and they face such challenges of trying to get a good education.  We think it is difficult to figure out how to afford college in the US, but it is 50 times harder over here to be able to get into a good college or university and then to be able to afford it as well.

Very few of the families can afford a car, so most of these young adults walk to Church about 3-5 miles and then the same distance back home.  Sometimes they ride in the Kombies which are Toyota minivans which will usually pack about 16 people into them.  Just going anywhere is  a major logistical challenge for most of these young people.  They are so amazing because they will walk to the Church on Saturday for Institute classes.  Then again on Sunday for Church, and on Monday night for YSA family home evening.  They never complain about how hard life is but are so positive and grateful for what they do have.  They are incredibly bright and have great insights into the scriptures and about what things are really important in life.  

Even though they have very little, they always try to dress nice for Sunday and they truly love the Lord and try to help each other. As we have gotten to know them, we realize what great potential they have if they can just find ways to get a good education and a good job.  It is great to see how the Church's Perpetual Education Fund can help them get that critical education, and then they pay back the low interest loan so someone else can then use that money to go to school.

Here we are after Church with Lilly who is the only active member of her family and Gift who is the only member in his family, and the Bishop's niece (kneeling on the ground).  Many of the young people have only one or no parents living .  They really have to be self motivated and dedicated.  They are inspiring to us.

Another young single adult couple that are getting quite serious about each other.